Jobos (pronounced "Hobos") is a very unique beach, even
for the northwestern coastline of Puerto Rico. The beach
faces north and a craggy volcanic
outcropping rises at the east end, protecting it from the bulk of
the Atlantic wave train and forming a cove that faces west like
a giant fishhook. The protected bay formed by the point concentrates the force of the
ocean swell at its western end,
where the cliff drops away into deeper water, and produces exceptional surfingwaves.

Standing in this placid little bay,
you can watch the spray from the waves smashing into the cliff and exploding
high into the blue sky before descending in a harmless veil onto the
brittle lava shelf. The
water in the cove is calm and quiet, belying the fact that it's in constant
motion. The surge from the masses of water crashing into the point aligns itself
beneath the surface to form a very powerful rip current flowing counterclockwise
around Jobos. From the point, the current flows to the west, then south into the beach, east along the shore and then finally
north, sweeping through the cove and back out to its origin.

For swimmers, these currents can be
confusing and dangerous — Jobos is the scene of many rescues and a few tragedies
every year — but for surfers they are a dream. Paddling out to the
lineup
is a breeze because once you put your board in the water at the east end of the
cove you are carried swiftly and effortlessly to the takeoff point next to the point.
Once there, staying in the right spot takes some diligence because the same
current that initially helped you now pulls you tirelessly to the west and then
in to the beach. If your timing is good however, you'll pop into the lineup
just as a sethammers into the point.

The wave breaks both right and left
but, unless it is really huge, the left rolls into shallow water in the cove and
peters out quickly while the right lines up and fires down the beach. Depending
on the swell size and wind, the ride is 50 to 200 or more meters long with
several bowls and walls along the way. A decent mid Atlantic swell brings
seven foot
faces to Jobos,
but the locals say the hurricanesurf can drive it twice that high at least
before it gets too gnarly to ride. During large swells the rip current is
magnified and allows the unsuspecting and overly ambitious to get into serious
trouble.

Parking at Jobos can be a problem on weekends as this is a very popular spot for both
tourists and locals. The gregarious puertoriqueños
often park three or four cars deep so beware of becoming trapped if you need to
leave anytime soon. There are bathrooms at the Sonia Rican restaurant, but
no shower facilities.

As we sat sipping our Heinekens at the Sonia Ricancantina, we saw the girl walking like a young
goddess across the white
sand towards us. She was a local girl and had that beautiful tan that the light
skinned Puerto Ricqueñas are blessed with, as if they had been cast from an
alloy of brass and copper. Her hair was dark brown, bleached to a rich auburn
from days in the sun. She wore a white bikini that revealed all the right bumps
and curves without being overly suggestive. Her shoulders and legs were
powerfully muscled without demeaning their feminine proportions. She carried a
white surfboard under one arm, perhaps six feet in length, with a swallowtail
and three fins. Behind her a yellow Labrador puppy followed, shuffling along with that happy
smile particular to the breed.

She paused for a moment at the water's
edge to fasten her surf leash and rub a bit of wax over the surface of her
board, then she tossed the board in the water, hopped on top and began paddling
towards the point without a backward glance. The current was her friend and she
used it expertly, timing her arrival in the lineup between sets and saving her
strength in an elegant conservation of energy. She paddled directly into the small
pack of surfers on the outside, clearly friends with the local crew and respected by them.

No sooner had she chatted them up a bit than the set came and they began jockeying
for position. She stayed where she was and let the first three waves go by,
clearing out the crowd in the process. When the fourth wave came, clearly larger
than the rest, she turned her board towards the shore and began to paddle.

She was positioned perfectly, but as
sometimes happens, the wave slowed when it encountered the rocky ledge beneath
it and the pause was enough to allow it to combine with the wave behind it,
causing it to jack up suddenly to almost twice its size. It's hard to estimate
wave height from the beach, but I'd guess this one was double overhead easily.

Everyone on the deck where we had been
sitting jumped to their feet, but the girl seemed unfazed. She stroked down
the face confidently, taking an extra pull or two to make sure she'd really
caught the wave, then hopped to her feet as the wave sucked out beneath her.

She was almost freefalling by the time
she hit the trough, and she flexed her knees to absorb the shock then set up a
powerful bottom turn just ahead of the thick lip of the wave exploding behind
her. She carved her turn all the way back up to the shoulder and ricocheted off of it
like a skateboarder on a ramp.

A long thin wall loomed in front of
her and she found a trimline, grabbed the rail and chargeddown the line, making
section after section. When she came to the inside bowl, she caught
some air, nosed her board into a sweet floater across the breaking lip,
then dropped in one last time before she
lay down on her board and let the roaring foam of the broken wave carry her
in toward the shore.

She ended as perfectly as she'd begun,
letting the swift and sure Jobos rip current carry her back along the beach
where she was greeted by her happy dog and probably a little surprised to see
the row of men standing in reverence on the cantina deck.

Tall and tan
And young and lovely
The girl from Ipanema goes walking
And when she passes
each one she passes
goes Ahhh.

- Antonio Carlos Jobim

As she strode from the water and
walked without a backward glance toward the parking lot, I felt an involuntary sigh escape my lips.

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Notes

Directions to Jobos Take Highway 2 to the intersection with Highway 107, then
follow 107 to the north around Punta Borinquen until you pass the two radar
domes of the Aeropuerto Rafael Hernandez. Turn right at the east end of
the airport to merge with Highway 110 and follow it until you see the left turn
for route 4466 marked Playa de Jobos. You'll descend to the coastal
plain and proceed east along the dunes for a few miles before you spot the Jobos
beach parking lot on the left hand side.